Dual purpose laundry bag



A118. 4, 9 T. F. SOMERS, JR 2,897,863

DUAL PURPOSE LAUNDRY BAG Filed July 15, 1957 INVENTOR 72mm: E 50/145165, JR.

r the bag without removing it from the hook.

United States Patent 2,897,863 Patented Aug. 4, 1959 fiice DUAL PURPOSE LAUNDRY BAG Thomas F. Somers, Jr., Pelham Heights, N.Y.

Application July 15, 1957, Serial No. 671,844

1 Claim. (Cl. 150-1) This invention relates to an improved laundry bag and more particularly to one having features permitting dual use.

An object of this invention is to provide a laundry bag which can conveniently be loaded or filled with clothes and thereafter washed with the clothes still inside thereby protecting them from damage and keeping them together.

In Washing some kinds of garments, for example delicate nylon stockings, it is desirable to protect them from too vigorous agitation and from tangling. The present invention provides an improved bag into which soiled clothes can be easily inserted from time to time and stored and within which they can thereafter be thoroughly washed. This laundry bag has a very open weave to provide ventilation and is made of a relatively tough wearresistant material such as nylon. It has an ordinary drawstring top by which it can hang on a hook in a closet or the like and the bag is provided with a side flap through which soiled clothes can conveniently by dropped inside When the bag is filled with clothes ready for laundering, its side flap is closed, its top is left tied together, and then the bag together with contents is put in a washing machine. After thorough washing, during which the clothes are protected from excessive agitation by being within the bag, the bag and clothes are removed from the machine and hung to dry separately. Since the bag itself, being of nylon or the like, will dry virtually immediately, it can quickly be returned to duty in the closet as a storage place for other soiled clothes. Thus, this one bag not only performs the functions of two, but it also is a bag which is especially convenient to use.

A better understanding of the invention together with a fuller appreciation of its many advantages will best be gained from a study of the following description given in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a laundry bag embodying features of the invention and shown partly filled With clothes; and

Figure 2 is an enlarged view of the bag itself laid flat.

As seen in Figure 1, a bag having an open-weave body 11 is drawn closed at the top by a draw string 12 which hangs on a hook 14. Extending down from the top of the bag for a short distance along the body is a side flap 16 which, shown here open, permits easy insertion of clothes into the bag even though the bag is hanging on a hook with its top drawn closed. Thus the bag need not be removed from the hook 14 to permit the insertion of clothes.

The flap 16 is provided with pairs of snap fasteners 18 spaced at points along the flap which, after the bag is filled with clothes ready for laundering, can be snapped together to hold the flap closed. By thus closing this flap and leaving the top of the bag tied together during laundering, the clothes will be held safely within the bag.

To remove the clothes from the bag, its top can be untied as shown in Figure 2. In the embodiment shown the bag is made of one piece of material so that the bottom edge of the bag and its right side are stitched closed along the seams 20 and 22.

An actual model of bag 10 was made of nylon net with openings in it about inch diameter, the overall size of the bag was 20 X 32 inches and side flap 16 was about 15 inches long.

The above description of the invention is intended in illustration and not in limitation thereof. Various changes may occur to those skilled in the art and these may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as set forth.

I claim:

An improved, washable, water-and-wear-resistant dual purpose laundry bag comprising a generally rectangular shaped body of quick-drying plastic material having a closed bottom and sides with an open top, said body hav ing a myriad of closely spaced relatively large holes through it to provide ventilation during laundry storage and free water flow during laundering, a draw string cord confined around the top edge of said bag and of such length as to adapt it to pull said top edge together and close it, said cord being adapted to suspend said bag from a hook, and a side flap extending from the top of the bag about half way down its side and which can be opened or closed to permit clothes to be inserted into said bag while its top is closed, and means to fasten said flap to hold clothes in the bag during laundering, said means comprising a series of said snap fasteners spaced along said flap.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 316,344 Dye Apr. 21, 1885 467,129 Cussen Jan. 12, 1892 1,706,330 Sorg Mar. 19, 1929 2,040,559 Luttrell May 12, 1936 2,318,735 Bickford May 11, 1943 2,565,394 Ryan Aug. 21, 1951 2,588,695 Brady et al. Mar. 11, 1952 2,602,482 Lyon July 8, 1952 2,710,638 Ford June 14, 1955 

